Hotspots Near You

How to find a hotspot

Each of the blue placemarks on the map above points to one of our Hotspots Near You, and each red placemark points to a hotspot we’ve described in a feature story. You can zoom in to your area using the + symbol in the lower right, and you can move the map by grabbing it with your cursor. Click on any placemark, and you’ll see a brief description of the site and its birds as well as a link to read more.

About “Hotspots Near You”

We’ve published “Hotspots Near You” since October 2006. In it, we provide up-to-date information from local birders about easily accessible places to watch birds. We offer maps, directions, bird lists, links, contact information, and detailed descriptions of hotspots that are great for birding close to home.

List of All Hotspots

This natural area next to Finley Golf Course is the place to see Yellow-breasted Chat, Blue Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, Hooded and Prothonotary Warblers, and Red-headed and Pileated Woodpeckers.By Nathan Swick | Published: 2/19/2010

Along the shores of Lake Texoma, this refuge 75 miles north of Dallas-Fort Worth provides nesting, stopover, and wintering habitat for more than 290 bird species, including warblers, vireos, shorebirds, waterfowl, and raptors.By Gail Morris | Published: 2/19/2010

Bald Eagles, gulls, and mergansers feast on salmon in fall and winter at this beautiful park west of Victoria, which is also home to American Dippers, Winter Wrens, Steller's Jays, Townsend's Warblers, and Red-breasted Sapsuckers.By Glenn Bartley | Published: 2/19/2010

This lake near the Atlantic Ocean is an important bathing and resting area for hundreds of gulls that draw casual birdwatchers and experienced gull watchers alike, and it's a great spot for waterfowl, winter finches, chickadees, and Bohemian Waxwing.By Anne Hughes | Published: 12/28/2009

Go to the heart of the restored New Jersey Meadowlands for raptors and Snowy Owls in winter, migratory birds in spring and fall, and Black Skimmers, egrets, and Orchard Orioles in summer.By Adam Marcus | Published: 12/28/2009

This huge national grassland south of Pierre is one of the best places in the lower 48 states to look for Gyrfalcons in winter. Other prime attractions include Snowy Owl, Greater Prairie-Chicken, Ferruginous Hawk, and nesting Burrowing Owls.By Doug Backlund | Published: 12/28/2009